Exterminating Angels (Les Anges Exterminateurs) (2006)
Average Rating: 5.5/10
Reviews Counted: 44
Fresh: 21 | Rotten: 23
Explicit and shocking, but there is no substance or statement on human behavior underneath the taboo-breaking.
Average Rating: 5.7/10
Critic Reviews: 17
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 8
Explicit and shocking, but there is no substance or statement on human behavior underneath the taboo-breaking.
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Average Rating: 2.8/5
User Ratings: 2,491
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Movie Info
A filmmaker seeks out actresses who aren't afraid to explore their sexuality for a film about female pleasure and transgressing taboos in director Jean-Claude Brisseau's semi-surreal fantasy drama. François (Frédéric Van Den Dreiessche) is a fiftysomething filmmaker who longs to achieve something truly great in the realm of cinema. In the aftermath of a spectral midnight visit from his beloved but deceased grandmother -- who offers the perplexed filmmaker a baffling warning from beyond the grave
Mar 7, 2007 Limited
Jul 24, 2007
IFC First Take
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All Critics (44) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (24) | DVD (4)
Endless auditions get the annoying Francois nowhere closer to grasping what turns women on.
Top CriticCritics I admire have assured me that many of Brisseau's earlier films are less silly, more interesting, and even commendable.
The content may be dubious, but the execution is hypnotic.
Gorgeous French silliness, yes, featuring stunning women having languorous, artful sex with each other. What was I saying? Oh yes, the silliness. Artful, gorgeous, sexy, sure, but ridiculous nonetheless.
[Director] Brisseau calculatedly offsets the silliness of the surreal elements and the earnestness applied to the sex by savoring the overall absurdity.
Mr. Brisseau honors the infinitely varying psyches of his female subjects. One may scoff at his voyeuristic self-indulgence, but when you come right down to it, isn't that what the cinema is all about, one way or another?
A complex, confessional examination of [Jean-Claude Brisseau's] twisted, thorny and ultimately ambiguous feelings toward women and sex.
Mix one part David Lynch, a few unhealthy jiggers of Zalmon King, a quart of the typical French film flesh peddling, and a decidedly asexual approach to softcore, and you'd get just a small portion of the preposterous self-righteous smut stupidity that is
... the film is passably entertaining but dramatically inert.
Masturbation as method acting!
The cinematic equivalent of getting drenched with a splash of ice water.
It lacks any introspection to illuminate the erotic subject matter.
It's not smart enough to actually pull off what it purports to do, and it's not free enough to simply enjoy itself.
Little more than Lesbians Lesbians Lesbians.
It's hard to tell if Brisseau is a raging misogynist or a radical feminist, and what makes the movie interesting is that he's probably a little bit of both.
... plenty of heat, not all that much light.
A sexually-charged, eyebrow-raising thriller that often straddles that fine line between erotic thriller and all-out pornography.
If the movie was meant to render sympathy to Brisseau, it only reinforces how monstrously repugnant he is. The audacity to suggest his complete innocence makes the whole thing seem like black comedy, only the core sentiment is not funny.
A venture into the world of lust and love scripted with the beauty and discipline of Greek tragedy. As enthralling as it is disturbing. A must see for those who can tolerate the explicit sex.
Audience Reviews for Exterminating Angels (Les Anges Exterminateurs)
Super Reviewer
A director is watched over by fallen angels who seem intent on sending him on a self-destructive path, influencing him towards more and more explicit material for his new film project.
Worth a rental if you don't mind the overt sexuality, but has some pretentious moments for sure.
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Foreign Titles
- Les anges exterminateurs (FR)
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[font=Century Gothic]"Exterminating Angels" is a seuxally explicit and thought-provoking movie that is not about sex per se. In reality, it is about no matter how casual or temporary a relationship is, be it a one night stand or making a film, there is always going to be a residual emotional connection. And sometimes people cannot help being hurt.[/font]
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[font=Century Gothic]However clear-sighted director Jean-Claude Brisseau may be about other facets of his movie, the character of the director still leaves something to be desired. Francois is staightforward and gentlemanly towards the actresses and complimented by them for being a good listener but if his sole purpose was to learn about female sexuality, then why not just hand his wife a 20-page questionnaire or simply listen to her?[/font]
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[font=Century Gothic]The angels and dead grandmother almost push the movie into David Lynch and Wim Wenders territory. They were not necessary and even a little pretentious.[/font]